"He raped a 13-year-old child and abducted her from her grandmother, but he denied it," Thanyanit Nitikrainon, a legal officer from the office of the attorney general who attended the court hearing, told Reuters.

"The court found him guilty of both offences, sentencing him to eight years for each."

The victim, now 32, said she was satisfied with Wednesday's sentencing.

She said she would present the ruling to the Sisaket Juvenile and Family Court, where she has filed a lawsuit against Wirapol requesting 40 million baht ($1.2m) in child support in a case the court had put on hold pending Wednesday's ruling.

Wirapol's high-profile cases have highlighted a series of sex and money scandals that have rocked Thailand's Buddhist institution in recent years, resulting in calls for reforms of religious institutions.

The military government that came to power after a 2014 coup has stepped up efforts to clean up Buddhism by arresting monks involved in corruption and scrutinising temple finances.